Duels

Sometimes a character is confronted with an enemy that they must deal with on their own while their companions contend with the waves of forces that seek to overwhelm them, or a pair of companions simply wants to spar to show off their strength. When this instance occurs, the situation may potentially be resolved with a narrative duel through either magical or martial means.

Magical Duel

When a duel unfolds between two spellcasters that are fighting to overwhelm the other with their magical expertise, a magical duel takes place.

Spell Schools

When two mages fight, they call upon the power of various schools of magic to try and overpower their opponent. There are three primary schools that a dueling mage can utilize: Abjuration, Conjuration, and Evocation. During each round of the mage duel, each involved party must decide which of these schools they will utilize. Each school has a strength and a weakness, which can give their caster an advantage in the resulting struggle.

Abjuration: A character that relies on the defensive abilities of Abjuration bolsters themselves against targeted threats, though the magics can falter against larger numbers of opponents. If a character chooses to use the Abjuration school, they have Advantage on the roll during the resolution if the opponent uses the Evocation school, and Disadvantage on the roll if the opponent uses the Conjuration school.
Conjuration: A character that relies on the summoning abilities of Conjuration summons forth additional minions to try and overwhelm their opponent, though their summoned allies can falter against destructive abilities. If a character chooses to use the Conjuration school, they have Advantage on the roll during the resolution if the opponent uses the Abjuration school, and Disadvantage on the roll if the opponent uses the Evocation school.
Evocation: A character that relies on the destructive abilities of Evocation can create swaths of destruction across wide areas, though focused protection can help cover their opponents against the furious strikes. If a character chooses to use the Evocation school, they have Advantage on the roll during the resolution if the opponent uses the Conjuration school, and Disadvantage on the roll if the opponent uses the Abjuration school.

If the two parties choose the same school, no Advantage or Disadvantage is awarded.

Resolution

Once each party has chosen the school of magic they will be utilizing, each should make an ability check, with Advantage or Disadvantage as appropriate. Most often, the ability check is Arcana using the character's spellcasting modifier, though the check could be Nature or Religion depending on the source of the magic being harnessed. Each party can choose to increase their modifier by expending a spell slot in exchange for an additional bonus that is equal to the level of the spell slot that was expended. For example, a 1st-level spell slot would award an additional +1 modifier, while an 8th-level spell slot would award an additional +8 modifier.

The winner of the contest strikes a blow if utilizing a strike system, or deals damage equal to the difference between the two rolls if utilizing a hit point system.

Spell Enhancement: The DM may allow a character to use their Spell Enhancement in order to further strengthen their roll. If so, the character can instead add a modifier equal to the number of mana spent to create the spell slot that was expended, but the character must then make a Constitution saving throw as if they had used the Heightened Spell enhancement on a spell of the appropriate level.

Ties

If the rolls are equivalent, the state of the contest remains the same and the process repeats.

Strikes & Hit Points